Page 111 - Congress

Rahul more intellectual, strategist as compared with Rajiv, says Pitroda

Rahul Gandhi is more intellectual and more of a strategist as compared with his father Rajiv Gandhi, says long-time Gandhi family confidant Sam Pitroda, describing both leaders as "custodians of the idea of India". In an interview with PTI, Pitroda also asserted that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has all the qualities of a future prime minister. Pitroda, the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, dismissed as "bogus" the BJP's attack on Rahul Gandhi in the past over his remarks critical of the government during his visits abroad. Speaking about Gandhi's upcoming visit to the US next week, Pitroda said he is not coming to the US in his official capacity but will have a chance to interact with a variety of people on Capitol Hill at an "individual level". "He (Gandhi) will definitely have interactions with the press at the national press club, he will meet with the think tank people and will also have interaction at Georgetown University which is equally import

Himachal bill to end pension for MLAs disqualified under anti-defection law

Earlier this year, six Congress MLAs - Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma, and Devinder Kumar - were disqualified under the anti-defection law

Congress in seat-sharing talks with AAP for Haryana Assembly polls

According to sources, at a meeting of the Congress' central election committee on Monday evening, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stressed that the INDIA bloc's votes should not get split

News updates: Zee Entertainment announces MCA approval for AGM extension

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Cong seeks more clarity from ICICI Bank, Madhabi Buch on retiral payouts

Congress leader Pawan Khera also asked why ICICI Bank covered the tax deducted at source for Puri Buch's employee stock ownership plan (Esop)

Saini slams Cong's 'Haryana Maange Hisab', says BJP gives account of work

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday took a dig at the Congress over its 'Haryana Maange Hisab' campaign, saying the BJP government regularly gives an account of its works to the people and asked the opposition party to make known what it did while in power. At a "Jan Ashirwad" rally in Karnal's Nilokheri, he alleged that during the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress took to "lying" and spreading "disinformation" that the Constitution would be changed if Prime Minister Narendra Modi becomes prime minister for the third time in a row. "Securing votes by taking support of lies and later exploiting the public is in their DNA," Saini said. Stepping up the attack on the Congress ahead of the October 5 Assembly polls, the chief minister said, "They have been seeking account (of works done) from us... In the past 10 years, the double-engine government has worked to make the lives of people better... We undertook equitable development." "We regularly give an account of our work to people

Rahul Gandhi to launch Cong's J-K poll campaign with 2 rallies on Sept 4

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will address two public rallies in Ramban and Anantnag districts on Wednesday, kickstarting the Congress' campaign for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls being held after a gap of 10 years. These rallies are part of the campaign for the party's candidates contesting in the first phase of the elections on September 18. Besides Rahul Gandhi, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are among the 40 star campaigners of the party in the upcoming three-phased Assembly polls. Polling to elect 90 members of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly will be held on September 18, 25, and October 1. "Rahul ji will kickstart the party's campaign from tomorrow. He will address two public rallies in Ramban and Anantnag districts in support of Congress candidates on Wednesday," Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Tariq Hamid Karra told PTI. The Congress and the National Conference have entered into

Kharge, Rahul meet AICC secretaries, joint secys to strengthen organisation

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi held a meeting with AICC secretaries and joint secretaries here on Tuesday during which ways to strengthen the party organisation were discussed. Kharge and Gandhi met the leaders at the AICC headquarters and sought their feedback on strengthening the organisation and expanding the party's support base, sources said. The meeting comes days after a major organisational rejig under which the party appointed several new secretaries and joint secretaries while shuffling the states of some office bearers. In a post on X, Kharge said the Congress will reach out to every Indian. "We chaired a meeting of the newly appointed AICC Secretaries and Joint Secretaries. We are determined to strengthen our organisation, involve each voice and keep speaking truth to power," the Congress president said. Kharge has appointed All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretaries and joint secretaries for various states and union ...

Singhvi slams govt over consensus for secular civil code, says 'jumlebazi'

Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for a secular civil code as 'jumlebazi', senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi says attempts are being made to ram such concepts down the throat of the people for political purposes, often ahead of polls. Singhvi, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed from Telangana last week, said there is nothing wrong with concepts if they are acted upon through consensus. "You cannot from the ramparts of Red Fort talk of X Y Z and not take your allies on board before that. Today I am not debating merits but 'One Nation One Election', can you do it without some degree of very high level of consultation. What is the point of saying that 'I am going to have a Uniform Civil Code' but you call it a secular civil code because you know you cannot do it uniformly," the eminent jurist told PTI. "Is it ever contemplated that Uttarakhand will have a UCC but if you step out of a car in Uttar Pradesh, there is no UCC... Is it Uniform Civil Code or is it ..

ICICI Bank, Zee in focus amid allegations on Sebi chief Buch; outlook here

ICICI Bank stock has gained 31% in the last 9 months, while Zee has crashed 50% thus far in 2024. Both stocks could see a role reversal going ahead provided these levels are taken out, suggest charts.

Will PM Modi hijack another Cong guarantee and conduct caste census: Jairam

A day after the RSS' comments on caste census, the Congress on Tuesday wondered whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would "hijack" another of its guarantee and conduct the caste census now with the Sangh having "given the green signal". The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Monday said it has no objection to collecting data on specific communities or castes, provided that the information is used for their welfare and not exploited as a political tool for electoral gains. Reacting to the remarks, Congress' general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said RSS's preaching on caste census raises some basic questions such as - does it have a veto power over caste census. "Who is the RSS to give permission for caste census? What does the RSS mean when it says caste census should not be misused for electioneering? Is it to be a judge or umpire?" Ramesh said in a post in Hindi on X. Why has RSS maintained a "mysterious silence" on the need for a constitutional amendment to

When will our frequent flyer visit Manipur: Congress's dig at PM Modi

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a visit to Brunei and Singapore, the Congress took a swipe at him on Tuesday, asking when will "our frequent flyer" make a 'humanitarian' visit to the troubled state of Manipur. Prime Minister Modi is visiting Brunei on September 3-4 at the invitation of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in all existing sectors. He is slated to visit Singapore on September 4-5 at the invitation of his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The non-biological PM is making what is being billed as a 'historic' visit to Brunei, after which he goes to Singapore. When is our frequent flyer going to make a 'humanitarian' visit to the troubled state of Manipur?" The situation in Manipur continues to be very tense, despite claims to the contrary being made by Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, he said. "Today is exactly 16 months since the eruption o

Even as Sebi WTM, Madhabi Puri Buch drew 'salary' from ICICI Bank: Cong

No payment to her other than retiral benefits, clarifies lender

News updates: CBI arrests ex-RG Kar Hospital principal Sandip Ghosh over 'financial misconduct'

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Congress' CEC clears 34 names of candidates for Haryana Assembly polls

The Congress' Central Election Committee met here on Monday and finalised the names of 34 candidates for the assembly polls in Haryana. The AICC's Haryana in-charge Depak Babaria said a final list would be released together by Wednesday. He also said the speculation surrounding Vinesh Phogat would also be laid to rest by Tuesday. "Today, a meeting was held for Haryana by the Central Election Committee (CEC). A list of 49 names was presented by the state's screening committee, out of which 34 have been approved and 15 are pending," Babaria said. "Names of 22 (sitting) MLAs have also been cleared. The meeting will continue tomorrow (Tuesday) and hopefully the final list will be announced the day after tomorrow," he said. Babaria said some names had been sent to the review committee and a call would be taken on those on Tuesday by the panel, which includes the Congress' Haryana unit chief and the legislature party leader. Babaria said the criteria for candidature was based on winnab

J&K polls: Cong releases phase 2 list of 6 candidates, fields JKPCC's Karra

The Congress on Monday released its second list of six candidates for the upcoming assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, fielding JKPCC chief Tariq Hameed Karra from Central Shalteng. The list was released soon after Congress' Central Election Committee (CEC) met here to finalise names of candidates for the elections, which the party is contesting in alliance with the National Conference. Apart from J-K Pradesh Congress Committee chief Karra, the party has fielded Mumtaz Khan from Reasi, Bhupender Jamwal from Mata Vaishno Devi, Iftikhar Ahmed from Rajouri (ST), Shabbir Ahmed Khan from Thannamandi (ST) and Mohammad Shahnawaz Choudhary from Surankote (ST). These constituencies will go to polls in the second phase of the three-phase assembly elections. The total number of candidates declared by the party is now 15. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, general secretary in-charge (organisation) K C Venugopal, Karra, Jammu and Kashmir screening committ

Cong levels new charges against Sebi chief, asks PM to come clean

The Congress on Monday levelled fresh conflict of interest allegations against SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come clean as the head of the appointments committee of the cabinet on her appointment. The opposition party said the Supreme Court should take cognisance of these fresh revelations and demanded that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson should be dismissed immediately. At a press conference, the Congress alleged that since the current SEBI chairperson took office in 2017, she has not only been drawing a salary from SEBI but has also been holding an office of profit at the ICICI Bank, continuing to receive income from them to this very day. There was no immediate response from Buch or the ICICI bank on the allegations. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said since the SEBI chairperson was appointed by the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah-led committee (appointments committee of the cabinet), they cannot absolve ...

Rahul Gandhi will be PM 100% when Cong comes to power: Abhishek Singhvi

Senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi on Monday said he sees Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi as a future prime minister and asserted that he earned "this right" to assume the post whenever the party comes to power. Singhvi hailed him for walking the talk, saying Gandhi means what he says and says what he means. Asked about Gandhi assuming the mantle of leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha and whether he sees him as a future prime minister, the four-time MP said, "Forgot me, ask BJP friends. All this trolling you used to see, why is there admiration even though it is a grudging admiration, because you realise that (they were) lampooning a sincere person, lampooning a person who is direct, forthright and conceptual, not fluffy at the edges, rhetorical, political, big words. The sincerity is coming through and people are realising it." "People realise he walks the talk, literally. People realise he means what he says and says what he means. It's exactly the opposi

Abolish Guv's post or appoint statured individuals by consensus: Singhvi

Amid growing instances of run-ins between governors and opposition-ruled state governments, senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi on Monday said the governor's post should either be abolished or a person of stature who is not into petty politics be appointed by consensus. Singhvi, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed from Telangana last week, also weighed in on the repeated standoffs between the Chair and the opposition in both Houses of Parliament and called for reforms to ensure the Chair is not partisan. In an interview with PTI, the four-time MP said a very big failing of this government is that it "demeaned, devalued and diminished" every institution and there were several instances of governors acting as a second chief executive or a "second sword in the same scabbard". "Either the governor's post be abolished or by consensus a person of stature who is not into petty politics be appointed," Singhvi asserted. "Will a person like Gopalkrishna Gandhi do such a thing? I

Conflict of interest: Buch drew salary from ICICI while at Sebi, says Congress

Congress leader Pawan Khera accuses Buch of receiving remuneration not only from the government but also from ICICI Bank and ICICI Prudential.